Oil-filter.



No. 728,047. PATBNTEDVMAYlz, 1903. G. D. TAYLOR & J. E. PARRISH.

GIL'FI'LTER.

- APPLIOATION FILED APE. 10, 1902.

No MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fig. 5 is fitted. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a vilNiTED TATES Patented May 12, 1903.

-ATENT EEicE.

GEORGE D. TAYLOR AND JUSTIN E. PAERIsH, on scRANToN, PENNSYLVANIA.

OIL-FILTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7208,04?, dated May V12, 1903.

' Application tiled April 10, 1902. Serial No. 102,318. (No model.)`

T0 all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that we, GEORGE D. TAYLOR and JUSTIN E. PARRISH, citizens of the United States, residing at Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have' invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Oil-Filters, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

Our invention relates to oil filters and purifiers, such as are used for purifying new oil when first used and dirty and previously-used oils for reuse; and the objects of the invention are to increase the efficiency, capacity, and durability of such filters, to simplify the construction, facilitate inspection, and improve such filters generally, and other objects as are vset forth herein, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

To these ends we have resortedl to the construction, arrangement, and.,` combinations as are herein specified and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of one`of our complete filters with parts broken away to facilitate illustration. Fig. 2 is a front interior view of the same, partly in cross-section, taken on `the broken line e of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the washing-tank of our device. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of our filtration-sections. Fig. 5 is a view illustrating atop strainer member through which the stock or oil to be cleaned is first passed. Fig. 6 isafunnel member of the device into which the strainer illustrated in shut-off valve used to govern the flow of oil through the device. Fig. 8 is a minitiedview of a drip-pan adapted to be placed under a filtration-section for the purpose of collecting and directing the filtered product to the reservoir below. Fig. 9 is a miniiied'view showing the arrangement of suit-able lids for covering the top of our filter.

Similar characters of reference denote like and similar parts throughout the views.

The device as we here describe and illustrate it is square in horizontal section; but it is evident that it may be enlarged or extended in any rectangular -form and yet embody the spirit and intent of our invention.

ln oil-filters heretofore used circular forms been overcome, and in addition thereto we have provided for washing or passing the oil through Water and also for maintaining the proper and even temperature in the oil and for locating the governing-valve within easy access for inspection without interrupting the operation of the filter. The essential elements of our device are therefore comprised in the washing-tank l, filtration-sections22, and the oil-reservoir 3. The number of ltration-sections 2 may be increased ad Zibt'tum, thus doubling or trebling the filtration capacity ofthe device, as the case may be.

In any oil-filter it should be explicitly understood that one of the important things to be accomplished is to extract the water from the oil to be filtered, the oil to be tilt-ered being contained in an emulsion of the condensation-water of steam and the oil previously used about steam engines and other machinery.; In order to separate the oil from the wateigthe emulsion should be reduced to drops and allowed to be slowly passed along upward and downward in'order to economize in space until the particles of oil and water have hadfsuflicient time to separate themselves. This function of separating the oil and water constituting the emulsion we perform in what we have designated the washingtank, which is so'constructed that the Iemulsion is delivered to the bottom oftheiirst compartment-and from there passes through a passage-way to the bottom of af second compartment.

The general purpose and construction being thus de'ined, the details will now be readily understood.

The washing-tank 1 is the receiving-section of the device, and is comprised in a central compartment et, su rrounded with a peripheral compartment 5. The said central compartment is in the general form of a frustum of a ICO .passing through them.

pyramid and is partitioned off from the peripheral compartment 5 by double walls 6 and 7, respectively, with a peripheral or jacketing space 8 between them, so that the interior walls 7 of the central compartment eX- tend down around the jacketing-wall 6 thereof bell shaped, leaving a space 9 around the lower rim thereof corresponding to the space 8 and affording a free passage-way from the jacketing-space 8 to the interior compartment 4, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1. Access to the peripheral space 8 is had through screen-openings 10 10, dac., near the top of the jacketing-wall 6, so that the oil from the peripheral compartment 5 may be strained in A receiving-funnel 11 with a peripheral trough 12 is arranged to cover the compartment 5 and is provided with funnel-tubes 13 13, dac., extending to the bottom of the compartment, the lower ends of said tubes being provided with a Haring strainer 14, adapted to cause the oil passing through them to be separated into small drops. Telescopinginto the peripheral trough 12 is alike-shaped strainer 14, into which the oil to be cleaned and iiltered is iirst introduced in the .operation of the device. The screen-bottom of this strainer is therefore coarser than the succeeding strainers through which theliquid to be purified is to be passed. A sight-tube 15, having its ends in free comin unication with the peripheral compartment 5, is arranged to show the height of theliquid contained therein. A pipe 1b' is connected through the bottom of the tank 1, communicating with the central compartment 4:, and is extended to the top of the liquid contained therein by means of a flexible tube 17, leading to a floating skimmer 18, access to the pipe being had through a series of perforations 19, whereby the washed product is conveyed to a section 2 below, the flow from said pipe being governed by means ofa float 20, arranged to control a turncock 2l in the pipe 16. The turncock is operated bymeans of a small pitman 22, pivoted to the crank 23 of said turncock and arranged to turn off the ow when the float 2O is lifted upward to a determined height. The said float is adjustable in height by means of a screw-thread on the rod 21. Sights 25 are cut at adjacent corners of section 2 in order to facilitate the inspection of the iiow and control of the oil. The pipe 16 empties its product into the small compartment 26 4in section 2, whence passages 2727, dto., lead into troughs 28, the said troughs being arranged to receive the shorter ends of the wicks or absorpt-ion-felts 29, each pair of said ends being protected by a screen 30, through which the oil is again strained before being absorbed by the wicks or floats, or, in other words, the capillary iuterstices of the wicks at the end are guarded by the straining plates or ganzes 30, which we preferably make from iinelyperforated tin-plate. The bottoms 31 of each of the troughs 28 slope toward the openings 27, through which openings all of the oil may be drained off by the faucet 33, leading out from the heating apartment 32, when from any reason it is desired to suspend operation of the device. The space 32 is heated by any suitable means, such as the steam-pipe coil 34, and it'will be understood that the oilis introduced into the troughs 28 by passing from the chamber 26 through an opening 27, wherebyall the chambers and troughs in the section become Iilled to a common level. The heating-coil 31 is thus immersed in the oil to be heated, and to facilitate the distribution of the heated oil openings 34' 34', dto., lead into the troughs 28 28, doc., at or about the top level of the oil. Ve find that by giving an upper and a lower opening to the compartments the free circulation of the gently-heated oil is promoted. An overflow-pipe 35 within the chamber 26 serves to supply a consecutive lower section 2 with liquid to be filtered, and the top of the pipe should be in such relation in height with the governor-float 2O as to permit of overflow before the governor suspends the supply. By means of this overflow-pipe 35, which leads to the section below in the same manner as the pipe 16 leads from section 1, we can utilize any number of sections 2 of the device complete, the service performed by each of which is that the oil is ltered as a final process by absorption through the several wicks 29, having their longer ends extending downward through the iuterstices between the troughs 28 aforesaid, whereby a siphonic action is induced in the felt wicks, the oil being lifted upward by capillary action out of the troughs and passed down into the section below by gravity, dropping off the longer ends of the wicksa process common to this and other filters. The ltered product of any upper section of wicks aforesaid is collected in a drip-pan 36, which is not cut in cross-section in Fig. 2, where its proper position is particularly illustrated. One corner of the pan is constructed to accommodate itself to the chamber 26, in which the governor is located. From the drip-pan it is passed through a pipe 37 between any two of the troughs 28, so as to drop into the reservoir 3 below, the whole ltered capacity being thus increased by each additional section 2 used. ln the lowermost section 2 to be used the drip is of course directly into the tank 3. The tank 3 is provided with an overflow-pipe 38, which may lead to any suitable receptacle and is used as a safeguard against wasting the filtered product should an oversupply accumulate therein. The tank 1 is provided with two separate faucets, the faucet 39 being used to drain off the contents of the peripheral compartment 5 and the faucet 40 communicating with the central compartment 4t by means of a tube extending through the former compartment. The finished product may be drawn off through the faucet 41, connecting with the interior of the tank 3. By this system of IIO IZO

faucets all of the oil or water holding chambers of our filter may be emptied of their contents. Steam for heating. the coil 34 may be admitted through the pipe 42, leading from any source of steam-supply, the condensation-water being passed off through a small pipe 43. When our filter is in use, the whole may be covered by a suitable lid 44, while the central compartment 4 may be separately covered by a suitable lid 45.

The operation of the device in general has been more conveniently describedin connection with the particular construction as We have proceeded. It is well to state, however, that in pouring oil into the receiving-strainer 14 the lid 45 should not be removed, so that no unwashed oil may be splashed into the central compartment 4. By means of the sighttube 15 the level of the water contained in the peripheral space 5 ma)7 be noted, so that when the attendant finds that too much water is accumulating therein the same may be drawn out through the faucet 39. A sufficiency of water, however, must be kept in the peripheral space, so that the emulsion introduced therein through the strainers 14 will be subjected to a longer and a more thorough contact with water in passing upward to the level of the screen-openings 10, communicating through the jacketing-space with the interior compartment 4. Since through careless operation some small quantity of water might at times pass with the oil into the compartment 4 and settle to the bottom thereof, a faucet 40 is provided through which to drain off al1 such water. In like manner some water may be conveyed into a section 2 of the device, where it will have a tendency to gather or collect in the lower part thereof. The operator should therefore occasionally draw the same off through the faucet In this way the filtering-wicks are kept free from contact with water, a very material point, from the fact that Water will seriouslyinterfere with the capillaryaction of the same.

In order to as thoroughly as possible extract all of the water from the oil, the emulsion in passing from thereceiving-funnel 11 should be distributed as much as possible so as to be permitted to move along with a slow motion. We accomplish this by first dividing it into drops by passing it through the strainers at the bottom of the funnel-tubes 13 1 3. These drops may rapidly nd their way nearly to the top of the peripheral compartment, the driest oil on the top in said compartment being drained into the passage-way between the two compartments. This passage-way, as it will be noted, consists of an open or expanded space extending throughout between the walls of the inner compartment and the peripheral compartment, so that the oil which is drained from the top of the peripheral compartment through the openings 10 l0 furnishes the entire supply drained through the said passage-way. This passage-way belspirit of our invention.

ing thus expanded, the flow therethrough is necessarily slow. This provides considerable time for such water as may yet be in the oil to separate itself and find its way to the bottom of the inner compartment. The flow `of the pure oil downward through the passageway between the two compartments is promoted by keeping the oil of the inner compartment drained to a level lower than that of the ports 10 10 leading to the peripheral space 8 forming the passage-way between the said compartments.

Having thus described the construction and operation of our filter, we do not wish to be con fined to the exact description and illustration set forth, as many of the details may be varied without departing from the general What we do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i 1. An oil-filter of the kind described comprising in combination a washing-tank, a filtering-section and a reservoir, the said washing-tank having a central and a peripheral compartment with a peripheral passage-way between the walls `thereof respectively, a straining-funnel arranged to conduct oil to be filtered to the bottom of said peripheral compartment, a strainer at the end of said funnel, ports leading from the top of said peripheral compartment to the peripheral passageway aforesaid, and the said peripheral pasv sage-way connecting with the bottom of the central compartment aforesaid, all arranged for joint operation, substantially as specied.

2. In an oil-filter of the kind described, a washing-compartment comprised in a peripheral and a central tank, the said peripheral tank adapted to be filled with water, and the said central tank adapted to be filled with washed oil, aperipheral funnel with a plurality of tubes closing the top of the peripheral tank, and the tubes thereof extending to the bottom of said tank, a double wall separating the central from the peripheral tank, and openings leading through the outer wall from the upper part of the peripheral tank, together with openings leading through the inner wall to the bottom of the central tank aforesaid, substantially as specified.

3. In an oil-filter of the kind described, a ltration member comprising a series of pairs of Wicks or absorption-felis, each pair arranged with their shorter ends in a common trough, and their ,longer ends extending over the edges, and adapted to drip into a tank beneath, screens arranged in the troughs afore- .said in proximity to the shorter ends of the wicks, and the bottoms of said troughs sloping to a series of openings into a common heating-chamber, additional openings lead-.

ing to said troughs at a higher level from the said heating-chamber, and means for heating the contents therein, substantially as specified.

4. In an oil-lter of the kind described, a filtration member comprising a series of pairs of IOO 'IIO

wicks or absorbent felts arranged with their shorter ends in a common trough, and their longer ends extending over the edges thereof, each of said troughs communicating freely with a heating-chamber by an upper and a lower passage-way and provided with acoilol` steam-pipe, whereby the material to be filtered in the several troughs may be heated, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. In a filtering apparatus of the kind described, the combination of an oil-Washing tank, With means for conducting oil to be ltered from the top level of the oil contained therein to a filtration-tank underneath, a float arrangedin the said iltrationtank,andashuto valve in the pipe aforesaid, the said oat arranged and adapted to shutoff the supply in said pipe when the level in the ltration-section rises to a predetermined height, a pipe leading from said ltration to an additional filtration section, and adapted to drain 0E the oil therefrom at a slightly-lowerlevel than the predetermined level aforesaid, and sights through the Walls of the filtration tank in proximity to the float aforesaid, for the purpose of facilitating inspection, substantial] y as and for the purpose specified.

6. In an oil-filter of the kind described, containing a reservoir, and a plurality of filtration-sections, each of said sections composed of a series of parallel troughs arranged to hold the oil to he filtered, the combination with a series of absorbent wicks or felts, of a drippan extending to the walls, and arranged to catch the filtered oilasitdrips from said wicks, and apipe leading from said drip-pan through the interstices of a similar tiltration-section below and emptying into the reservoir aforesaid, substantially as specified.

7. In the washing-tank of an oil-filter of the kind described the combination of two compartments with an expanded passage-way connecting the top of one compartment with the bottom of the other compartment, the said expanded passage-way being constructed by double and substantially parallel Walls between the compartments aforesaid, a funnel in the one compartment having tubes extending to the bottom thereof, strainers on the lower ends of said tubes, whereby the oil to be filtered is conducted to the bottom of the rst compartment and separated into small drops, thence floated to the top thereof and th rough the passage-Way aforesaid to the bottom of the other compartment, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE D. TAYLOR. JUSTIN E. PARRISH.

Witnesses:

CHAs. W. DAWSON, J. M. MoREDooK. 

